Cradley, Worcestershire
Encyclopedia
Cradley is a village in the "Black Country
" of Dudley
, near Halesowen
and the banks of the river Stour
. It is unofficially known locally as Colley Gate
, however Colley Gate is the name of the short road in the centre of Cradley. It was part of the ancient parish of Halesowen
, but (unlike much of the rest of that parish, which was an exclave of Shropshire
) was always in Worcestershire, until the creation of the West Midlands County
in 1974. This meant that for civil administrative purposes, Cradley formerly had the officers which a parish would have had.
There are two villages named Cradley in the Midlands
of England
; the "other" Cradley
lies about 30 miles to the southwest, near to the Malvern Hills
in south Worcestershire, but just across the county boundary in Herefordshire
.
In the 19th century a new settlement grew up in heathland on the other side of the river, and became known as Cradley Heath
. This was in the ancient parish of Rowley Regis
. Previously the residents of Cradley had had the right to graze their animals on that heath, subject to a small annual payment to the lord of the manor.
Cradley appears in the Domesday Book
thus:
The manor of Cradley was bought and sold over the centuries, and also changed hands as a result of forfeiture and political favours. In 1473, following the forfeiture of it by James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, it passed to the Crown, and King Edward IV
gave the largest part of it to his Queen. She had built a chapel, dedicated to Erasmus, the Dutch humanist, adjoining the abbey church at Westminster
, and endowed it with the manors of Cradley and Hagley
, but the manor reverted to Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond, when the attainder
was reversed by Henry VII
. In 1564, the 7th Earl's grandson sold it, together with Oldswinford
, Hagley and Clent
, to Sir John Lyttleton of Frankley. The boundary of Cradley, as re-surveyed in 1733, has remained virtually unchanged ever since.
During the English Civil War
, Parliamentary troops were quartered in Cradley.
Renowned typeface designer William Caslon
is believed to have been born in Cradley in 1693, although there are those who maintain that he was born in Halesowen.
visited Cradley, and wrote:
The local Anglican church, St. Peter's, was built by a group of Dissenters who gathered together to form the Independent Congregational Society. However, a special Act of Parliament
(39 Geo. III. 1799), passed on 12 July 1799, took St. Peter's into the Church of England
.
The Dissenting tradition remained strong, and many local Unitarian
, Wesleyan
, Methodist and Baptist
churches flourished.
making, though the most important centre was the adjacent (but distinct) Cradley Heath
. The chain was made on a hearth by hammering cut lengths of red-hot wrought iron rod into oval links, one link passing through the next to form a cable. The anchor chain for the Titanic was made at Cradley Heath.
Chain making was not the first or only iron trade carried on in Cradley and the neighbouring towns. For hundreds of years nails had been made in the Black Country, and many thousands of men and women were employed in the trade. It was the staple industry
until the mid-19th century. Nail making by hand went into decline after the introduction of machine made nails in about 1830 and many nail makers adapted their smiths and forge
s, and redirected their skills to making chain.
Cradley is less famous for coal mining
than chain making, but between 1850 and 1950 the collieries were no less important than the chain works in the local economy and for the legacy they left.
The coal mining and chain making that made Cradley famous are now in the past, and most of the other iron-based trades have declined to a shadow of their former selves.
, Steve Bloomer
was born in Bridge Street, Cradley on January 20, 1874.
Organisations and publications such as the Black Country Society and The Black Country Bugle keep the name of Cradley well-known to thousands of people.
Many local pubs have been demolished in recent years,"The Black Horse" and "The Bulls Head" were both situated in Overend and have made way for private housing. More recently (2008) "The Top Crown" was razed to the ground.
Although Cradley was historically a village in its own right, increasing residential development during the first half of the 20th century has been it swallowed up into Halesowen
so it became not only part of the Halesowen Borough, but also part of the town of Halesowen. Cradley's old High Street is located along what is now known as Colley Lane.
A number of pre-1900 homes remain in Cradley
, but most of the housing stock dates from after the First World War, and there is a substantial mix of private and council properties.
It has good transport links. There are several buses connecting Cradley with Halesowen, Stourbridge
and Birmingham
as well as the area being close to Cradley Heath and Lye
train stations.
Huntington Gardens was situated in the north of Cradley near the border with Cradley Heath
, on the site of poor housing stock that had previously formed New Street, Victoria Street and Little Hill. The estate was completed by 1973 and consisted of 153 maisonettes and flats, as well as four lock-up shops. Residents also had access to garages as well as two sub stations. Some improvements were made to the already-troubled estate in 1988 - these amounted to nothing more than new porches, secured accesses, landscaping, fenced-off gardens and new playgrounds. But these improvements were inadequate for a neighbourhood in terminal decline, and by the end of the 1990s it was one of the worst estates in the West Midlands
. Vandalism, graffiti, litter, drug-taking, burglaries and car crime were rife, and these problems had contributed to an increasing number of empty properties on the estate. Demand for properties was low, and by the end of the year 2000, local residents started to work in conjunction with local council officials to try and determine a solution to the estate's plight. A consultation process with residents showed that 80% were in favour of demolition, and within a year all of the residents had been rehoused. Demolition took place in 2003 and the site has since been sold for private residential development.
Tanhouse Estate is situated to the south of Cradley adjoining the countryside, and on its completion consisted of several hundred low-rise council homes, several blocks of flats up to three storeys high, two 20-storey tower blocks and a 10 storey block. These homes were popular on their construction due to modern convenience that many of their occupants had never previously experienced, but within 20 years the estate was one of the most notorious in the West Midlands
. Many of the homes had fallen into disrepair, and the local area was plagued by drug-taking, theft, vandalism and car crime. The local ambulance crew would refuse to answer calls from houses on the estate unless protected by police, due to a string of vandal attacks on ambulances. Two of the estate's tower blocks were razed to the ground in controlled explosions on 24 July 1999, and the site of both blocks has since been developed for housing. The remaining tower block was renovated at around the same time, and the estate's fortunes have since improved.
's name lives on in the local Caslon Primary School that was built after the Second World War.
A secondary modern school was built to serve Cradley in 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, and was named Homer Hill Secondary Modern School. In 1972, however, a reorganisation of education in Halesowen saw the school closed and the buildings occupied by Homer Hill Middle School. This reorganisation saw 5-7 infant, 7-11 junior and 11-16/18 secondary schools replaced by 5-9 first, 9-13 middle and 13-16/18 secondary schools. However, this system was scrapped in September 1982 on the reintroduction of the traditional age ranges in Halesowen. Homer Hill Middle School was consequently closed and reorganised into Cradley High School
, an 11-16 comprehensive school. The school was rebuilt between 1987 and 1992, with the fully completed new school being opened on 5 June 1992. It closed 16 years later.
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
" of Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, near Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
and the banks of the river Stour
River Stour, Worcestershire
The Stour is a river flowing through the counties of Worcestershire, the West Midlands and Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. The Stour is a major tributary of the River Severn, and it is about in length...
. It is unofficially known locally as Colley Gate
Colley Gate
Colley Gate is a road in Cradley in Halesowen, England. Colley Gate is part of the A458 road connecting Halesowen with StourbridgeTo avoid confusion with nearby Cradley Heath, Cradley is often referred to as Colley Gate as it is the central road of Cradley....
, however Colley Gate is the name of the short road in the centre of Cradley. It was part of the ancient parish of Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
, but (unlike much of the rest of that parish, which was an exclave of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
) was always in Worcestershire, until the creation of the West Midlands County
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
in 1974. This meant that for civil administrative purposes, Cradley formerly had the officers which a parish would have had.
There are two villages named Cradley in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; the "other" Cradley
Cradley, Herefordshire
Cradley is the largest village in Herefordshire, England . The nearest towns are Ledbury, 14 km to the south, and Bromyard, 15 km to the north west, in Herefordshire and Malvern, Worcestershire, 7 km to the south east on the other side of the Malvern Hills.Cradley has a village shop/...
lies about 30 miles to the southwest, near to the Malvern Hills
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern...
in south Worcestershire, but just across the county boundary in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
.
In the 19th century a new settlement grew up in heathland on the other side of the river, and became known as Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...
. This was in the ancient parish of Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom. Being part of the Black Country, locals speak with the traditional dialect, though in a form regarded by many as the quickest and the hardest to...
. Previously the residents of Cradley had had the right to graze their animals on that heath, subject to a small annual payment to the lord of the manor.
History
Withgar, the last of the Saxons, was the last lord to live within the manor. His house, which was very likely on the site of the old "Farther Leys Barn" (Fatherless Barn) was no doubt a timber built structure like a barn, his family living at one end while his servants and ceorls occupied the other where they slept on straw.Cradley appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
thus:
- CRADELEIE. Pagan holds it under William son of Ansculf. Withgar held it. There is one hide, no part in Demesne, 4 villagers and 11 smallholders with 7 ploughs. The value was 40 shillings; now 24 shillings.
The manor of Cradley was bought and sold over the centuries, and also changed hands as a result of forfeiture and political favours. In 1473, following the forfeiture of it by James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, it passed to the Crown, and King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
gave the largest part of it to his Queen. She had built a chapel, dedicated to Erasmus, the Dutch humanist, adjoining the abbey church at Westminster
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, and endowed it with the manors of Cradley and Hagley
Hagley
Hagley is a village and civil parish on the northern boundary of Worcestershire, England, near to the towns of Kidderminster and Stourbridge. The parish had a population of 4,283 in 2001, but the whole village had a population of perhaps 5,600, including the part in Clent parish...
, but the manor reverted to Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond, when the attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
was reversed by Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
. In 1564, the 7th Earl's grandson sold it, together with Oldswinford
Oldswinford
The name Oldswinford is now used for a small area of Stourbridge, close to the parish church.-History:Originally, it was an extensive ancient parish, covering the whole of the former Municipal Borough of Stourbridge, except Pedmore...
, Hagley and Clent
Clent
Clent is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, southwest of Birmingham and close to the edge of the West Midlands conurbation. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,600...
, to Sir John Lyttleton of Frankley. The boundary of Cradley, as re-surveyed in 1733, has remained virtually unchanged ever since.
During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Parliamentary troops were quartered in Cradley.
Renowned typeface designer William Caslon
William Caslon
William Caslon , also known as William Caslon I, was an English gunsmith and designer of typefaces. He was born at Cradley, Worcestershire, and in 1716 started business in London as an engraver of gun locks and barrels, and as a bookbinder's tool cutter...
is believed to have been born in Cradley in 1693, although there are those who maintain that he was born in Halesowen.
Religious history
In 1770, John WesleyJohn Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
visited Cradley, and wrote:
- "Monday, 19, March 1770 - I rode to Cradley (from WednesburyWednesburyWednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
). Here also the multitude obliged me to stand abroad, although the north wind whistled about my head. About one I took the field to StourbridgeStourbridgeStourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
. Many of the hearers were as wild as colts untamed; but the bridle was in their mouths. At six I began in DudleyDudleyDudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
. The air was as cold as I had almost ever felt, but I trust GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
warmed many hearts."
The local Anglican church, St. Peter's, was built by a group of Dissenters who gathered together to form the Independent Congregational Society. However, a special Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
(39 Geo. III. 1799), passed on 12 July 1799, took St. Peter's into the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
The Dissenting tradition remained strong, and many local Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, Wesleyan
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, Methodist and Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches flourished.
Industrial history
Cradley achieved prominence in the 19th century as a centre of iron chainChain
A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
making, though the most important centre was the adjacent (but distinct) Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...
. The chain was made on a hearth by hammering cut lengths of red-hot wrought iron rod into oval links, one link passing through the next to form a cable. The anchor chain for the Titanic was made at Cradley Heath.
Chain making was not the first or only iron trade carried on in Cradley and the neighbouring towns. For hundreds of years nails had been made in the Black Country, and many thousands of men and women were employed in the trade. It was the staple industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
until the mid-19th century. Nail making by hand went into decline after the introduction of machine made nails in about 1830 and many nail makers adapted their smiths and forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
s, and redirected their skills to making chain.
Cradley is less famous for coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
than chain making, but between 1850 and 1950 the collieries were no less important than the chain works in the local economy and for the legacy they left.
The coal mining and chain making that made Cradley famous are now in the past, and most of the other iron-based trades have declined to a shadow of their former selves.
Recent times
The legendary football playerFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, Steve Bloomer
Steve Bloomer
Steve Bloomer was an English footballer and manager who played for Derby County, Middlesbrough and England during the 1890s and 1900s. Bloomer remains a legend at Derby County and the club anthem, Steve Bloomer's Watchin', is played before every home game...
was born in Bridge Street, Cradley on January 20, 1874.
Organisations and publications such as the Black Country Society and The Black Country Bugle keep the name of Cradley well-known to thousands of people.
Many local pubs have been demolished in recent years,"The Black Horse" and "The Bulls Head" were both situated in Overend and have made way for private housing. More recently (2008) "The Top Crown" was razed to the ground.
Although Cradley was historically a village in its own right, increasing residential development during the first half of the 20th century has been it swallowed up into Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
so it became not only part of the Halesowen Borough, but also part of the town of Halesowen. Cradley's old High Street is located along what is now known as Colley Lane.
A number of pre-1900 homes remain in Cradley
Cradley
Places in the United Kingdom called Cradley:*Cradley, West Midlands*Cradley Heath, also in the West Midlands*Cradley, Herefordshire...
, but most of the housing stock dates from after the First World War, and there is a substantial mix of private and council properties.
It has good transport links. There are several buses connecting Cradley with Halesowen, Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
as well as the area being close to Cradley Heath and Lye
Lye
Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide or historically potassium hydroxide . Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes...
train stations.
Social housing
Two large housing development took place in Cradley during the 1960s and 1970s - Tanhouse Estate and Huntington Gardens.Huntington Gardens was situated in the north of Cradley near the border with Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...
, on the site of poor housing stock that had previously formed New Street, Victoria Street and Little Hill. The estate was completed by 1973 and consisted of 153 maisonettes and flats, as well as four lock-up shops. Residents also had access to garages as well as two sub stations. Some improvements were made to the already-troubled estate in 1988 - these amounted to nothing more than new porches, secured accesses, landscaping, fenced-off gardens and new playgrounds. But these improvements were inadequate for a neighbourhood in terminal decline, and by the end of the 1990s it was one of the worst estates in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
. Vandalism, graffiti, litter, drug-taking, burglaries and car crime were rife, and these problems had contributed to an increasing number of empty properties on the estate. Demand for properties was low, and by the end of the year 2000, local residents started to work in conjunction with local council officials to try and determine a solution to the estate's plight. A consultation process with residents showed that 80% were in favour of demolition, and within a year all of the residents had been rehoused. Demolition took place in 2003 and the site has since been sold for private residential development.
Tanhouse Estate is situated to the south of Cradley adjoining the countryside, and on its completion consisted of several hundred low-rise council homes, several blocks of flats up to three storeys high, two 20-storey tower blocks and a 10 storey block. These homes were popular on their construction due to modern convenience that many of their occupants had never previously experienced, but within 20 years the estate was one of the most notorious in the West Midlands
West Midlands conurbation
The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
. Many of the homes had fallen into disrepair, and the local area was plagued by drug-taking, theft, vandalism and car crime. The local ambulance crew would refuse to answer calls from houses on the estate unless protected by police, due to a string of vandal attacks on ambulances. Two of the estate's tower blocks were razed to the ground in controlled explosions on 24 July 1999, and the site of both blocks has since been developed for housing. The remaining tower block was renovated at around the same time, and the estate's fortunes have since improved.
Education
William CaslonWilliam Caslon
William Caslon , also known as William Caslon I, was an English gunsmith and designer of typefaces. He was born at Cradley, Worcestershire, and in 1716 started business in London as an engraver of gun locks and barrels, and as a bookbinder's tool cutter...
's name lives on in the local Caslon Primary School that was built after the Second World War.
A secondary modern school was built to serve Cradley in 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, and was named Homer Hill Secondary Modern School. In 1972, however, a reorganisation of education in Halesowen saw the school closed and the buildings occupied by Homer Hill Middle School. This reorganisation saw 5-7 infant, 7-11 junior and 11-16/18 secondary schools replaced by 5-9 first, 9-13 middle and 13-16/18 secondary schools. However, this system was scrapped in September 1982 on the reintroduction of the traditional age ranges in Halesowen. Homer Hill Middle School was consequently closed and reorganised into Cradley High School
Cradley High School
Cradley High School was a secondary school located in the Cradley area of Halesowen, which is a village in the West Midlands county of England. It is situated in the west end of Halesowen near the borders with Stourbridge and Brierley Hill...
, an 11-16 comprehensive school. The school was rebuilt between 1987 and 1992, with the fully completed new school being opened on 5 June 1992. It closed 16 years later.